Project Roles are Blending: Can Your Teams Adapt?

Organizations are Evolving and Require Adaptive Leaders

In many of today’s organizations with traditional hierarchies, there is clear separation between job roles and departmental responsibilities. For companies that engage in project-based work, teams can count on having a business analyst, project manager, and other distinct roles as part of their organizational structure. But now, as business has become more complex and organizations face greater demands for speed and execution, it has become critical for project roles to blend and integrate.

The blending of project roles in the current business climate makes adaptive leadership essential to today’s organizations. Being an adaptive leader provides you with the mindset and skill set to not only address and shape corporate culture, but also to effectively engage your network and influence the people around you.

Break Down Silos

Being an adaptive leader isn’t just about looking forward. Skills of an adaptive leader can be critical in addressing corporate culture that is no longer functioning effectively. Silos that were created in the past to separate different parts of a company are no longer serving many organizations in which more workers in diverse roles are expected to be architects, translators, and doers of strategy. Facilitating interaction between silos and thus breaking them down is an important job for an adaptive leader. By allowing different groups to understand their roles in the context of the whole, as well as how duties can overlap and work together, you can break through silos and promote more effective and collaborative practices.

Broaden Your Network

As an adaptive leader, you have the tools to more effectively guide your team in a direction that may be unfamiliar. Honing relational skills facilitates interaction with groups both above and below you – and even outside of your organization – which can help you better communicate across different roles. Building and expanding your network will allow for greater knowledge sharing and collaboration, and by considering perspectives and opinions you may have previously overlooked, you can facilitate problem solving and innovation. When decisions are no longer dictated from the top down, relying on and trusting those around you will allow you pull the right levers and gather the right information to guide your projects to success.

Lead With More Context

While developing and leveraging your network is a key aspect to blending project roles, understanding the bigger picture is just as important. Part of being an adaptive leader is being nimble enough to operate in different areas of an organization that may have been previously unfamiliar. Further, having a grasp of what’s happening in your industry and the external factors that may affect your business will also provide a more holistic view of your organization’s goals and challenges. Just like the diverse groups of people and roles at all levels of the business, project leaders also have a responsibility and obligation to wear many hats – whether as architects, translators, or doers – in order to execute the company strategy more effectively. Adapting to these shifting roles is critical, and adaptive leadership can provide you with the mindset and tool set to better navigate changes as you encounter them.

TwentyEighty Strategy Execution, the global authority in project leadership training, equips your people with the complete package of technical and leadership skills — the mindset, adaptability,and expertise to lead and execute projects in any context. With curricula in adaptive strategic execution, project management, business analysis, contract management, and more, Strategy Execution partners with your organization to build skill sets and change mindsets. It’s time to declare a new standard of performance. For more information, visit strategyex.com.

About Strategy Execution

TwentyEighty Strategy Execution, the global authority in project leadership training, equips your people with the complete package of technical and leadership skills — the mindset, adaptability,
and expertise to lead and execute projects in any context. With curricula in adaptive strategic execution, project management, business analysis, contract management, and more, Strategy Execution partners with your organization to build skill sets and change mindsets. It’s time to declare a new standard of performance. For more information, visit strategyex.com.